


hold my hand harder, ease my mind

by Salty_Cro



Series: knives in the sand, gun in your hand [5]
Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 14:29:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16160783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salty_Cro/pseuds/Salty_Cro
Summary: Sometimes Sier doesn't pay attention as well as he should.title from sweet talk by the killers





	hold my hand harder, ease my mind

**Author's Note:**

> Sier has a perception level of 2 (i wish i was kidding)

“Please step into the open and identify yourself. Law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear.”

 

“Shit,” Sier hissed. He pushed Arcade backwards into a supply closet and shut the door.

 

“Sier--” Arcade started. Sier put his hand over Arcade’s mouth.

 

“How the fuck are those things still going,” Sier muttered.

 

Arcade pulled away from Sier’s hand. “They're robots, they probably weren't--”

 

“No, I know that, I mean why hasn't someone taken them out yet,” Sier said.

 

“Don't you want to be the first to get the treasure?” Arcade teased.

 

“I don't actually think there’s treasure here,” Sier said.

 

“Then why are we here?” Arcade asked.

 

“There’s gotta be something, if everyone’s so obsessed with this place,” Sier said.

 

“Fair enough,” Arcade said, “So then what are we supposed to do now?”

 

“Wait,” Sier guessed.

 

“Wait?” Arcade raised an eyebrow.

 

“Listen, I wasn’t planning for this,” Sier said.

 

The rusty creaking of the Protectron sounded like it was getting farther away. Sier pulled his plasma rifle off of his back.

 

“If I can get the drop on it, I can disable it,” Sier said.

 

“Good luck with that,” Arcade said.

 

“Do you want to get out of here?” Sier pointed out.

 

“I’m staying in here until you figure it out,” Arcade said.

 

“That's a good idea,” Sier said.

 

“Don’t get shot,” Arcade said.

 

“No promises,” Sier said. He cracked open the door.

 

Nothing seemed to be around. Sier stepped out, checking his PipBoy to see where the Protectron went. It was still somewhere in the office area, but Sier couldn’t see it.

 

“This is a lawful use of deadly force. Please direct complaints to your local law enforcement authorities.”

 

Lasers fired from a nearby cubicle. One of the shots grazed Sier’s arm.

 

“Fuck!” Sier fired back. He knocked the Protectron’s arm off instead of hitting its center. “Dammit.”

 

Bracing his injured arm on the nearest filing cabinet, Sier shot again. This time, he broke the glass of the Protectron’s head. Then, with a final microfusion cell to the core, the Protectron exploded.

 

“Sier?” Arcade called out. Sier turned back to the supply closet.

 

“The Protectron’s down,” Sier yelled back.

 

“Yeah, I think I figured that one out,” Arcade said. Sier heard the door open. “What happened to your arm?”

 

“Take a wild guess,” Sier said bitterly.

 

“I had one request,” Arcade huffed.

 

“I wasn’t quiet enough?” Sier tried

 

“We both knew you wouldn’t be able to sneak up on it,” Arcade said.

 

“Whatever,” Sier said. He glanced down at his PipBoy. “Shit, there’s more of them.”

 

“Let’s come back later. You’re already incapacitated,” Arcade said.

 

“I’m not incapacitated, I just have a--”

 

“Scanning for hostiles.”

 

“Come _on_ ,” Sier groaned, ducking into a cubicle.

 

“Sier, let’s just go. It won’t follow us out,” Arcade said, right behind him.

 

“Yeah, okay,” Sier said. He put his plasma rifle on his back and peered out into the room.

 

The Protectron wasn’t in the office, so it was probably on the warehouse floor. Realistically, they could get out without being detected. Sier checked his PipBoy. The exit was clear.

 

“Let’s go,” Sier said. He grabbed Arcade’s hand with his good arm and led the way out of the office.

 

They pushed through the double doors into the wasteland. Stopping to catch his breath, Sier let go of Arcade. He dropped his bag on the ground and leaned on the glass of the giant bottle.

 

“Why do you always assault me whenever we’re in a dangerous situation?” Arcade asked.

 

“What?” Sier frowned.

 

“Every time we’re in any kind of danger, you always… grab me,” Arcade explained hesitantly.

 

“Oh. Do I?” Sier acknowledged, looking down at the cracked concrete. “Sorry. I’ll stop.”

 

“No, it’s… I was just wondering why,” Arcade said.

 

“I don’t know,” Sier shrugged, still avoiding Arcade’s eyes. Did he really do that?

 

“It’s… not bad. I mean, you aren’t hurting me. It’s just that I’ve never seen you do it to anyone else,” Arcade said.

 

“Oh,” Sier replied. That’s all he could say. Now that he thought about it, he was hyper aware of all the times he had done it.

 

There was a moment of apprehension before Sier finally looked up at Arcade. “I guess we should head back, then?”

 

“What about your arm?” Arcade pointed out.

 

“I’ll be fine,” Sier said. But the adrenaline was wearing off, and it did hurt like hell.

 

“No, let me see it,” Arcade said.

 

Sier reluctantly stuck out his arm. Arcade held his wrist gently and looked at the abrasion. The laser had cauterized it immediately, so there wasn’t much blood. It wasn’t too deep, either, which was for the best. Sier braced for a syringe; when the stab came, it came with numbness.

 

“Med-X?” Sier asked.

 

“It hurt, didn’t it?” Arcade replied. He readied the stimpak and injected that too.

 

Sier dropped his arm. “Yeah, but I would have been--”

 

“Insufferable for the next day?” Arcade finished his sentence.

 

“I’m sorry,” Sier said, his tone shifting. He didn’t want to make Arcade apparently hate him more. “Let’s go.”

 

“Sier…” Arcade started.

 

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll go home and rest or whatever you want me to do. You’re just trying to help. Whatever,” Sier said. He was walking fast, as fast as his thoughts would let him.

 

“That’s not what this is about,” Arcade protested. Sier could hear his footsteps getting farther behind.

 

“Well, I’m doing all these things that are annoying you. If you feel like you’re having to take care of me like a child, then you can leave. I’m not gonna drag you with me,” Sier said, still walking away.

 

“No!” Arcade exclaimed, “That’s not-- I didn’t say that.”

 

“I keep making you come with me and watch while I make mistakes. I keep doing stupid shit and pulling you around and then you fix me up after all of it. It’s not fair to you. I’m not going to make you keep doing this,” Sier said. He was slowly running out of steam to keep stomping away.

 

“Sier! Listen to me!” Arcade said. Sier stopped and turned around. Arcade walked up to him, out of breath. Sier felt bad, but he couldn’t back down yet.

 

“What,” Sier said. He tried to be imposing, but it came out as desperate.

 

“I’m doing this because I want to. I’m doing this because it’s fun, most of the time. And because I love you,” Arcade admitted breathily. Sier looked up at him, waiting for his brain to catch up with his ears.

 

“Wait,” Sier frowned, “What?”

 

Instead of replying, Arcade held Sier’s chin up and kissed him. Again, it took Sier a moment to process what was going on. In that time, Arcade seemed to freeze. Then he pulled away, backing up and putting so much space between himself and Sier. Sier was still stuck. What could he say to that?

 

“Oh,” Sier said.

 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have--”

 

“Wait!” Sier said, “No, it’s okay. I just… I didn’t know… I just need a second.”

 

“I’ll just go,” Arcade said, starting to back up more.

 

“No, wait,” Sier said softly. All of the feelings he had sidelined before he knew what they meant were coming back. He stepped forward, reaching for Arcade. “I love you too.”

 

“Really?” Arcade said, “You’re not just saying that because I said it?”

 

“I’m pretty sure,” Sier said. He was right in front of Arcade now.

 

“Okay,” Arcade murmured.

 

Their eyes met. Sier tried to express all the things he hadn’t said. He leaned in and kissed Arcade. Arcade kissed back tentatively, but Sier was firm. He wanted to make sure Arcade understood that he meant it. When they pulled apart for air, Sier felt like a weight had been lifted.

 

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Sier said, “I should have thought about it before I started talking.”

 

“I should have been nicer,” Arcade said.

 

“No, I should’ve paid more attention. And listened to you,” Sier said.

 

“You could stand to listen to me more,” Arcade agreed.

 

“I love you,” Sier said.

 

“I love you too,” Arcade said.

 

“Retribution!” Gunshot.

 

“Fucking hell,” Sier muttered. He grabbed Arcade's hand and started sprinting away.

 


End file.
